


Darkness in the Temple

by dogmatix, norcumi



Series: Through a Mirror Darkly [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton
Genre: GFY, Gen, Non-canon death of Canon Characters, Sith, Sith!Obi-Wan, Sith!Qui-Gon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 13:59:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5336636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogmatix/pseuds/dogmatix, https://archiveofourown.org/users/norcumi/pseuds/norcumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Returning to the Jedi Temple after Melida/Daan, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are both expecting some time to rest. All is not well as the Temple, however, and they have to find and stop the person behind the attacks on the Jedi, or the entire Temple could be in jeopardy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Darkness in the Temple

**Author's Note:**

> Many, many thanks to [Flamethrower](http://archiveofourown.org/users/flamethrower) and [MoreCivilizedAge](http://archiveofourown.org/users/morecivilizedage) for commentary, cleanup, and sanity checks along the way!
> 
> This is set in the Jedi Apprentice series by Wolverton and Watson. It is not especially necessary to know the books for the fic to make sense, but they’re definitely the base the fic is built on. Mace's interactions with Obi-Wan in particular are almost straight from the book.

Obi-Wan was glad to be home, really he was. Several months before, he’d left Coruscant for Bandomeer, alone and in disgrace, and now here he was, student to Master Qui-Gon Jinn, standing at his Master’s side and making a report to the High Council.

Obi-Wan had only been in the Council chamber once or twice before, for important things like his Initiate Trials, and he never got less nervous. Of course, now he had a lot more to hide. The fact that he was a Sith, mainly. He squashed the urge to shuffle his feet, tug his braid, or hide behind Qui-Gon – that wouldn’t work, anyway, since the Council seats spanned most of the way around the room, letting the Councilmembers view those in the center from all angles.

Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what the Council would do if they found out about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan being Sith. Jedi weren’t supposed to be indiscriminately violent, but he remembered his own initial gut-dropping shock at seeing Force-lightning spark on Qui-Gon’s fingertips, and the last time the Jedi had run into the Sith, the Sith had been exterminated. Or so the Jedi had thought. Not that the Sith hadn’t deserved it, but Qui-Gon wasn’t evil, and Obi-Wan hoped he wasn’t, either.

Would the Council believe that? There would be some consequences, surely. Death wasn’t the only possibility, just the worst one, but the thought of being expelled from the Order was horrifying enough by to be going on with. They might even separate Obi-Wan from his Master, or-

No. Deep breath.

Wait. Council chamber. Okay, stealthy deep breath.

Obi-Wan centered and calmed himself. Yes, he was in a room surrounded by twelve of the most skilled and powerful Jedi in the Order, but they weren’t looking for anything odd about him, and Qui-Gon had deemed Obi-Wan’s shields good enough to enter the Temple. Obi-Wan would trust his Master.

“Padawan Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan startled as someone said his name, sounding loud and exasperated enough that it probably wasn’t the first time. Meeting Mace Windu’s pointed look made his face go hot, but he collected himself as quickly as possible. “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that, Master Windu?”

“I said, the Council was hoping you might be able to offer us some insight into Bruck Chun, since we suspect him of being the one responsible for the assassination attempt on Master Yoda, or in league with them.

Obi-Wan’s gaze dropped automatically to the small, green Master, before jerking back to Master Windu. They wanted insight into Bruck from _him_? “Oh. N-no, Master Windu. We weren’t friends.”

“We are aware of that, Kenobi,” Master Windu said dryly. “A rival can sometimes offer observations a friend cannot.”

Nonplussed, Obi-Wan shook his head. “I’m sorry Master Windu. I know how Bruck fights, but I can’t tell you much more than that.” Except the kind of name-calling that Bruck used to throw his way, but how could that possibly be useful?

“I see.”

Obi-Wan had the feeling he'd just failed some kind of obscure test, though he couldn't fathom how.

“Perhaps my Padawan might wait elsewhere, if there is more you wish to discuss regarding this matter,” Qui-Gon suggested.

“That’s fine,” Mace nodded.

Qui-Gon put a light hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “Go to our quarters, Obi-Wan.”

“Yes, Master,” Obi-Wan said. His shields were still clamped tight, and could remain so for some time, but it was a relief to be getting out from under the Council’s grim gaze.

Walking through the Temple was eerie. Nobody was out and about who didn’t have to be, leaving hallways and courtyards with an abandoned, forlorn air. The instances of petty theft Master Tahl was in charge of investigating had escalated to vandalism and an attack on Master Yoda himself. It had shaken the entire Order, and the Council had requested that Jedi only leave their rooms when necessary. Obi-Wan felt a stab of guilt that he’d been so wrapped up in his own troubles, back there in the Council chamber. He still couldn’t think of any insights into Bruck’s character, though.

He wasn’t even convinced that Bruck really had been part of the bombing plot. Obi-Wan had some experience with death – Melida/Daan had hardly been a bloodless revolution. He’d done his best to avoid killing, but he’d taken lives, in those weeks following Qui-Gon’s departure. Even there, on a planet steeped in Darkness, in the middle of a war, fighting for his life and the lives of others, killing hadn’t been easy. It was surely impossible that any of his age-mates, even Bruck, could try to kill someone in cold blood, here in the heart of the Order.

“Obi-Wan!”

This time the voice calling his name was much more welcome. “Bant!” Obi-Wan broke into a grin. Bant Eerin was a Mon Calamari, and one of his closest friends. The hug they shared felt more like a homecoming than the Council meeting had, by far.

“I didn’t know you were back,” Bant said, smiling as they drew apart.

“We just got back this morning.”

“You and Master Qui-Gon. He really took you as his padawan, then.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said, telling his first sort-of lie to his friend. For a moment the truth rose up in him, and he had the urge to tell Bant everything, but he caught the words behind his teeth, and the urge passed.

“What’s Master Jinn like?” Bant asked, sounding a bit uncertain. “He seems very….stern.”

“He’s not so bad.” Obi-wan felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth. “You just have to get to know him.”

They continued to chat as they walked, Bant catching Obi-Wan up on everything he’d missed in the past couple of months. Neither Garen nor Reeft were in-Temple, unfortunately, though Obi-Wan was glad that Reeft had been chosen as a padawan by Master Ibes. Garen, who was of an age with Bant, was off getting specialized piloting lessons. Bant herself had been told by the Council – by Yoda himself – that she was ready to be a padawan.

Obi-Wan felt a stirring of…not exactly anger. Annoyance, maybe, or shame. All three of his friends were advancing so easily, slotting neatly into their paths as Jedi. Garen and Bant were both two years younger than Obi-Wan, and already they were being given accolades and special training, all but ensuring that they'd have the interest of someone looking for a Padawan. They hadn’t had to fight for it as desperately as Obi-Wan had. It wasn’t fair.

The universe wasn’t fair, Obi-Wan reminded himself. If it were, the AgriCorps would certainly be a lot smaller than it was. No, he wasn’t going to be angry at his friends for doing well. He decided he would be happy for them, instead. Matching action to thought, Obi-wan praised Bant for her achievement, watching her glow with happiness, and he knew he’d made the right choice.

They ended up in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, although calling it a ‘room’ was a bit misleading. It was a huge meditation area with a ceiling well over a dozen stories high, and a bank of powerful lights overhead gave the illusion of a sun shining down out of a cloudless blue sky. Bant often went to the lake there to swim or wade, and it had been a popular spot for their group to come and relax, or meditate, as it was for many Jedi. Obi-Wan and Bant continued to chat, their voices the only sound apart from the soft tinkling of the fountains that gave the room its name, and Obi-Wan had to fight the urge to lower his voice. Obi-Wan steered the conversation away from his missions as much as he could. Part of it was that he didn’t want to monitor everything he said to hide the truth of what he was, but mostly he didn’t want to talk about Melida/Daan – the war, the suffering, the lives he’d taken. He was a killer, now, and the last thing he wanted to do was burden his bright, innocent friend with that.

Shaking off the pall that nipped around the edges of his thoughts, Obi-wan instead focused on the riot of plantlife around them, and asked after other mutual friends and teachers.

They’d reached the lake when a muffled boom from high above drew their startled attention, and the air shivered around them. They looked up, confused for a second. The light overhead flickered and dimmed as a metallic squeal echoed through the area. Something sparkled as it fell, and Obi-wan realized that the lights overhead must have been damaged. A piece of metal twice as tall as Obi-Wan tore through the lightweight fabric scrim that helped create the illusion of a sky. It plunged straight down and struck the ground a fair distance from Obi-Wan and Bant, but both of them jumped back anyway, Obi-Wan’s hand going instinctively to his lightsaber.

Looking up again, they saw a metal tube visible past the now-dimmed lights. It swayed drunkenly over the hundred-meter drop, and Bant gasped.

“That’s a turbolift tube!”

“Is there someone in there?” Obi-Wan asked in alarm.

“I think that line runs from the crèche!” Bant said, voice rising. They stared at each other in horror. “I’ll go get help!” Bant said, taking off at a run for the door.

“Master!” Obi-Wan called into his comlink, but there was no response – Qui-Gon must still be in the Council session, his com turned off. Obi-wan looked up at the turbolift, sensing the muted fear and panic radiating from it – easy to pick up on with no other living beings around. Even if Obi-Wan could get up to the catwalks and rafters that ran around the turbolift, there was no guarantee that the weakened metal of the tube could bear even his light weight in addition to the lift.

Obi-Wan weighed his options and made his choice.

* * *

It took most of a long, tense hour to get all ten of the young children and their teacher, Master Ali-Alann, down from the precariously hanging turbolift. Qui-Gon had arrived in time to take the first wide-eyed youngling from Obi-Wan, bringing her to the safety of the thin catwalk, while Obi-Wan moved carefully back down the damaged tube to get the next child. Once again, Obi-Wan was putting his life in danger for the sake of others. Qui-Gon was sincerely baffled and a little outraged that no Jedi Master had seen fit to take Obi-Wan as their student.

Even with the entire Jedi Council supporting the lift and ready to catch it via the Force if it fell, it wasn’t an experience Qui-Gon wanted to repeat anytime soon. First the bomb targeting Yoda, now this. Younglings, none over the age of four. Someone had dared to target _younglings_.

With everyone safely on the ground, well away from the damaged tube, Mace and the Council thanked the various Knights and Masters who’d come to help, as well as Bant Eerin, for her calm and speedy action. Qui-Gon added his own thanks, and she seemed to lose some of her skittishness towards him.

Mace next turned to Obi-Wan, thanking him for his quick thinking. Qui-Gon could see his apprentice glow under the well-deserved praise.

“However,” Mace continued, scowling now, “your flaw has come to the fore once again, Padawan Kenobi. Your impulsiveness does you no credit, nor does it incline the Council to believe you suitable to be a Jedi Knight. Acting alone, without waiting for direction, you endangered the lives all the children in the lift.”

“I- I know, Master Windu, but I tested my weight on it before I- and there wasn’t anyone else to- ” Obi-Wan scrambled to rally, obviously stunned.

“And if the shaft had broken free?” Mace interrupted, voice hash.

Qui-Gon’s fury rose, and he took a step to stand at Obi-Wan’s side, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Mace Windu, my student has done nothing wrong,” he said icily, meeting Mace’s glare with his own. “Obi-Wan made a decision based on the facts as he knew them. Yes, either path presented danger, but making decisions, often difficult, snap decisions, is exactly what Obi-Wan will have to do, as a field Jedi. While it's likely that some of those choices will be wrong, that fact does not absolve Obi-Wan of making them, any more than it absolves _any_ Jedi.”

Perhaps if Qui-Gon had been Jedi in fact as well as in name, he wouldn’t have stepped forward to contradict Mace. Perhaps if he’d been raising Obi-Wan as a Jedi, he might have trusted the Council’s judgement over his own. Neither of those scenarios were the case, however. Obi-Wan was Qui-Gon’s Apprentice, and he would defend his Apprentice even from the Jedi, if the situation called for it.

Although in this instance, Qui-Gon suspected it was only that Mace had been stuck in the temple for so long that the man had forgotten what it was like to be out in the field, where waiting for Council permission was a good way to get yourself and others killed.

“Discuss what is to be done about this attack, we should,” Yoda broke their stalemate. “Time there will be later, for other matters.”

“We should shut down this wing, for now,” Mace agreed, looking away from Qui-Gon.

“Call you we will,” Yoda nodded to Qui-Gon, “if new developments there are.”

“Yes, Master Yoda.” Qui-Gon inclined his head and stayed standing with Obi-Wan as the Council moved off.

* * *

It turned out that Mace’s ire was short-lived in the face of the continuing crisis. Early the next day, Qui-Gon was asked to help with the investigation, and he and Obi-Wan conferred with Tahl to get a more in-depth understanding of the situation. She gave them a concise summary of her investigation, starting with the first incidents of petty theft, vandalism, and the Temple’s increasingly glitchy computer systems, and ending with the two bombings. The stolen items seemed mostly innocuous – some Jedi robes and a sports kit – though the list also included the Healing Crystals of Fire, which was one of the Temple’s most valued artifacts, as well as most useful. The glitchy systems had caused no harm, though the malfunctioning lights and air circulation had prompted the Council to shut down two wings of the temple and relocate the Jedi there to temporary quarters elsewhere. The most severe incidents, of course, were the bombings. The first had targeted Yoda, and only a premonition through the Force had saved the old Master’s life. Obi-Wan had witnessed the attack against the younglings himself, and while the bomber could not have known _who_ they would potentially kill, that turbolift ran between the crèche and a mess hall, and regularly carried younglings.

The Temple was on high alert as a result of the attacks, but the ancient structure was huge, and the Jedi Guardians were stretched to their limit even guarding the most essential areas. They couldn’t possibly cover every room and hallway. Those Jedi in-Temple, as well as initiates, were being asked to either supplement the Guardians, or remain in their quarters as much as possible, and to report any suspicious activity.

Many Jedi were away on missions, thinning the ranks at the Temple even more. Even the head of the Jedi Council, Master Tyvokka, was away from the Temple. He, along with his former padawan, Plo Koon, and several other Jedi, were tied up with peace negotiations somewhere in the Mid-Rim.

After the briefing, Qui-Gon assigned his apprentice to gather what information he could about Bruck from the initiates at the Temple, while Tahl took Qui-Gon to study the severely damaged remnants that were all that were left of the two bombs. Determining how the bombs had been put together from scraps and chemical traces was a challenge, and Qui-Gon quickly lost himself in it.

The delicious smell of cooked meat made Qui-Gon’s stomach growl, and he paused, wondering how long it had been since he’d had his morning tea and….what had he had for breakfast, anyway? Sitting up into a stretch, Qui-Gon popped his spine as Obi-Wan put a tray down next to several delicate, if melted, bomb components.

“You are sent by the gods themselves,” Qui-Gon said as he picked up the warm, flakey pastry enclosing chunks of meat mixed with thick gravy and took a bite.

Obi-wan chuckled, picking up one of the two he’d brought for himself. “I thought you might be hungry. You’ve been in here almost eight hours.”

“That long?” Qui-Gon grumbled past his mouthful, picking up the tray and moving over to a padded couch placed against the wall of the laboratory. Better not to get pastry flakes over important evidence. “I hope you have more to show for your day than I do for mine.”

“I doubt it,” Obi-Wan admitted, biting and chewing with a thoughtful look. “I talked to everyone I could find that might have known Bruck, but a lot of them didn’t know anything, or didn’t want to talk to me. I found out he likes gundarks, for some reason, and he’s not very good at history, but pretty good at astrophysics. Oh, and Siri Tachi said he boasted about his family to her, which is kind of odd.” Obi-Wan interrupted himself with another bite of food, all but inhaling the warm, filling meal. “I mean, where would he even find that out? Anyway, he’d told her that his father was rich and powerful, or had gotten rich and powerful after moving to a new planet. Telos, that was it.”

Qui-Gon swallowed hard, forcing the food down. His shoulders sagged. Damn it to all the hells.

“I don’t think Tachi likes me much,” Obi-Wan continued through his food. “She’s the same age as Bant and Reeft, and I think she found out from them about Bandomeer, or actually that I’d been kind of expelled for a while, and she’s wasn’t very happy when I asked- Master? Are you alright?”

Qui-Gon looked up into worried blue eyes. He shook his head and did his best to rally. “I’m fine, Obi-Wan. I think your information confirms something that I’d prefer not to be true, but it does bring us one step closer to understanding what’s going on.”

“You found something?” Obi-Wan asked, attentive and focused.

“I had a suspicion, which just became a great deal more likely. The pieces of the bomb, though damaged, seemed like they might match the type of bombs we disarmed on Bandomeer. And Xanatos is from Telos IV.” Qui-Gon shook his head. “It’s circumstantial, but very _odd_ , and there’s the chance that Bruck might be working with Xanatos.”

Obi-Wan frowned and raised a finger. “Question. Why are _we_ doing this instead of Judicial?” He glanced at the pieces of metal and wire on the table. “I mean, I know this is sort of part of what we do on missions like Bandomeer and Gala, but…this is Coruscant. Shouldn’t we be getting help? It’s good to have the Force, but…”

“An experienced forensics team might be able to find things Xanatos wouldn’t know to hide?”

“Well, yes.”

“That is a very good suggestion,” Qui-Gon admitted, “and normally you’d be right, and Judicial would be going over the temple with fine-toothed combs. If it weren’t for the vertex.”

“Vertex?” Obi looked confused. “ _What_ vertex?”

It was a fair question. Vertex was a crystalline mineral, and extremely valuable. In fact, it was often cut to certain sizes and used as a substitute currency. Much like currency, the thought of finding vertex at the Jedi Temple was an odd thought.

“The giant shipment of the damn stuff that the temple is sitting on.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

Qui-Gon outlined the rather delicate situation – two planets fighting over the shipment of vertex, both with enough allies that a breakdown in diplomacy could lead to a bloodbath encompassing several star systems. The Jedi – more specifically, Master Tyvokka, Knight Koon, and three other Master Jedi – had been called in to arbitrate, and the planetary governments were willing to sit down together only if the Jedi would take charge of the shipment while negotiations were underway. “So you see, the Temple cannot afford to contact Judicial. If the systems in question perceive the Jedi as vulnerable or weak, negotiations could break down.” He shrugged. “At least, that’s how the situation was explained to me.”

“That’s….that’s great,” Obi-Wan scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “Okay, so no outside help. But what do the malfunctioning environmental systems have to do with anything? Is Xanatos just trying to spook us?”

Qui-Gon leaned back and looked at the bits of bomb fragments, gaze shuttered. “It's possible, but don't rule out a more complicated explanation. Xanatos has a bad habit of doing things for more than one reason.”

“I’m still not sure what the theft of the sport kit and the Healing Crystals are about,” Obi-Wan admitted.

“Neither do I. Unfortunately, I have no doubt we’ll find out. For now, we should let Tahl know what we’ve figured out,” Qui-Gon decided, brushing the last crumbs off his fingers.

* * *

“Xanatos?” Tahl asked, frowning. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but that seems a bit…unlikely.”

“He’s not the Xanatos you remember, not anymore,” Qui-Gon said grimly. “I realize that the connections are circumstantial, but consider this, too. Whoever is behind these attacks _knows_ the Jedi Temple. Would an outsider be able to move undetected? Would an outsider know the Temple’s computer systems well enough to introduce a virus so subtle even Miro Daroon is having trouble pinning it down? And would an initiate like Bruck be experienced and canny enough – not to mention ruthless enough – to plant bombs targeting children?”

“I suppose I just don’t want to think it of Xanatos.” Tahl sounded subdued, sad. “He was such a bright young padawan- ”

“I know, Tahl,” Qui-Gon interrupted, tense and unhappy.

“I’m sorry.” Though sightless, her green and orange eyes were still compassionate.

Qui-Gon shook his head, forgetting that she couldn’t see it. “If I hadn’t met him on Bandomeer, I might not have believed it either.”

Tahl frowned. “It could explain why the student records were all wiped. There might have been something linking Bruck with Xanatos, if Bruck’s records were kept up to date with his family’s status.”

“Then Xanatos must have been the one who told Bruck about his family,” Obi-Wan blurted out. Finding Tahl and Qui-Gon’s attention fixed on him, he flushed. “I- I mean, how else would Bruck have found out? But Siri said that was months ago.”

Qui-Gon’s eyes narrowed. “So Xanatos might well have been here for months. Why wait so long?”

“He seemed pretty fixated on you – maybe your return to the Temple was what he was waiting for?” Obi-Wan ventured.

“No. I’m sure he sees that as a bonus, but the thefts started _before_ I returned.”

The three of them fell into a thoughtful silence, until Qui-Gon sighed and shook his head. “Maybe knowing more about what Xanatos has been up to would help. Tahl, your skills as a researcher are second to none. We know Xanatos is connected with Offworld Mining. Perhaps you could trace his movements through that, figure out what his ultimate goal is.”

“While you and your padawan take the fun part of the assignment,” Tahl said, but there was a bit of real hurt under her joking tone.

“Yes, searching the entire temple from top to bottom, that’s exactly what I want to be doing with the rest of my evening,” Qui-Gon said wryly. “Though your task may be no easier – Offworld Mining is a tangle of shell companies and hidden assets. It might not be possible to even find out Xanatos’ official title.”

“Oh, I think I can crack it,” Tahl said, her chin coming up as she accepted the challenge.

“Then we’ll leave you to- ”

“Master Tahl! I have return- Oh!” 2J-TJ almost collided with Qui-Gon as it opened the door and barreled into the room. “I beg your pardon, Master Jedi- ”

“It’s quite all right, TooJay.” Qui-Gon maneuvered around the apologizing droid. TooJay had been assigned to help Tahl around the Temple, but Qui-Gon’s friend had confided in him that she found the droid more annoying than useful. That was understandable; the overly-exact and verbose droid was tone-deaf when it came to Tahl’s ire, as well as being a constant reminder of her lost sight.

Having avoided one collision, Qui-Gon ran afoul of a second, as a young initiate bounced off his legs.

“Ma-Master Jinn!” Bant Eerin squeaked, trying to catch her breath and dripping wet. “Master Tahl! I think- I know how the intruder’s- moving around the Temple!” she huffed out triumphantly.

* * *

It was a particular quirk of the Jedi Temple that almost nothing was locked. Oh, sensitive areas required access codes, and things could be sealed in emergencies, but as a general rule, barriers were for privacy or safety, and Jedi were expected to have enough honesty and self-control to abide by those unspoken requests. For example, padawans were not supposed to be traipsing through the Temple’s water tunnels. Bant pressed two buttons in quick succession, and the metal grate leading into the water tunnels slid neatly open.

Obi-Wan held back the urge to tease her about her minor infraction. Not hard to do, since he, Bant, and Qui-Gon were at the bottom of the artificial lake in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan with rebreathers firmly clamped between their teeth. Jedi could hold their breath for extended periods of time, but given the distance they needed to travel, the rebreathers were a necessity as they followed the Mon Cal girl down one water-filled tunnel after another.

Though the water system was supposed to be off-limits, Bant had admitted to sometimes using it to travel through the temple. She’d heard voices coming in her direction and hidden herself, ultimately catching only a glimpse of two figures – one taller, one shorter, both human or near-human – as they slipped under the water and down another tunnel. She’d remained hidden for another few minutes, to make sure they were gone, then run to inform Master Tahl.

Swimming up now, they broke the water’s surface at a confluence of tunnels, with ledges along the walls and ladders leading up. “And this is where you saw them?” Qui-Gon asked when Bant brought them to a halt.

“Yes, Master Jinn,” Bant nodded. She pointed at the ledge running along the side of the tunnel. “They were walking along that.” She pointed down one of the tunnels. “And they came from that direction.

As someone who’d been on the receiving end of Xanatos’ anger, Obi-Wan disliked having Bant along while they were trying to track the man down. In the warren of tunnels threaded through the Temple though, Bant was their best and in fact only guide.

“Alright.” Qui-Gon maneuvered through the water towards the ledge and heaved himself onto it. “Let’s see if we can find something useful. Both of you stay behind me, and Bant, if we run across Xanatos, you are strictly prohibited from trying to fight him.”

“Of course, Master Jinn,” Bant said, sounding surprised.

Obi-Wan blushed. “Bant isn’t as, um, impulsive as I am.”

“I see,” Qui-Gon said, amusement threaded through his words.

Falling silent, they moved down the walkway, all of them trying not to squelch too much. After a few minutes, they turned a corner and came to yet another tunnel junction. On the ledge opposite theirs, Xanatos was tightening the straps to a small pack slung over his back. Both the Jedi and Xanatos froze for a moment. Obi-Wan thought that Xanatos might have grinned around the rebreather he already had in place, then the Fallen Jedi gave one more pull on the straps before diving off the ledge.

Obi-Wan was the first to move, running down the walkway. If he was fast enough, perhaps–

“Obi-Wan, stop!”

Obi-Wan pulled up short. “Wh- He got away!”

“He knows these tunnels better than either of us, and I am not willing to put Initiate Eerin in the lead – it is far too dangerous. We aren’t out of options yet, and now Xanatos has one less place to hide.”

“Yes, Master,” Obi-Wan said reluctantly, still wanting to dive after their quarry. He understood his Master’s logic, and agreed with it, but part of him hated to see Xanatos so close and then lose the man.

“Come, we should return and inform Tahl and the Council of what we found here.”

* * *

A niggling feeling of discontent followed Obi-Wan to bed that night, and he didn’t think it was just from losing Xanatos. He was still turning the events of the previous evening over in his mind as he poked the noodles in his morning soup.

“Good morning, Obi-Wan.”

“Hm? Oh, good morning, Master.”

“Is something the matter?” Qui-Gon asked, pouring himself some tea from the water Obi-Wan had heated.

“Not…really. It’s just…something keeps bothering me.”

“About Xanatos?”

“Sort of. More like the entire situation.”

“It took me by surprise that Xanatos chose to run instead of fight, given our last encounter, but it does support my theory that my presence is incidental, and not the motivation for his actions.”

“Well, that too, but…he fled with a bag full of stuff.”

“Yes?”

“Was that really everything he had? I mean, if he was living there, wouldn’t he have had, I don’t know, some clothes and a bedroll, at least? And we know he has the Healing Crystals of Fire, I don’t think he’d just throw those away, so…what if that wasn’t his first trip?”

Qui-Gon frowned. “The timing is highly co-incidental as well.”

“Yes!” Obi-Wan nodded vigorously. “Why would he have been relocating at all? Why right then?”

They thought about it for a minute.

“You think he knew we were coming.” Qui-Gon said.

“It makes sense. Maybe he’d rigged the entrances of the tunnels somehow, to let him know if anyone accessed them.”

“Hmm. No, that doesn’t account for him not knowing Bant was around, and I doubt he’d have had time to move everything from the time we entered the tunnels to the time we found him. He would have had to know earlier.”

“Maybe he knew Bant was there?”

“No, she never would have made it out of the tunnels, if that were the case.”

Obi-Wan gripped his bowl harder at the thought of Bant being killed. “So then, some kind of spy? Maybe Bruck isn’t the only one working with Xanatos.”

Qui-Gon shook his head. “The only ones there were the two of us, Bant, and Tahl.”

“Well, it’s not us, and it’s definitely not Bant, because that wouldn’t make any sense. But…maybe Master Tahl…”

“No. I trust Tahl implicitly.”

“Not with your secret.”

There was a moment of dead silence.

Qui-Gon jerked back. Along the bond came a roar of anger, shock, and hurt, before the connection slammed shut in Obi-Wan’s face.

Obi-Wan’s eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open as he realized what he’d just said. “I- I’m sorry! I don’t- I didn’t mean- ”

“That is for _her_ protection as well as ours!”

Obi-Wan bowed his head and hunched his shoulders, wishing desperately he could call his thoughtless words back out of the air. “I know, Master, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”

“I trust Tahl with my _life_.”

“Yes, Master,” Obi-Wan said, cursing his thoughtless tongue.

A heavy silence descended, and Obi-Wan tucked his shields around his mind so as not to bother his Master.

“Obi-Wan.”

“Yes, Master?”

There was a short pause, then Qui-Gon spoke, his voice not warm, but at least not filled with the hurt and fury Obi had glimpsed across their bond. “Look at me.”

Obi-Wan lifted his head.

“There will be a long and tedious essay in your near future. For now, we have more important matters to attend to.”

“Yes, Master,” Obi-Wan said, a wave of cold relief washing through him. Punishment meant there could be forgiveness, afterwards.

The Sith Master took a deep breath and blew it out through his nose. “If it’s not a spy, perhaps we’re looking for some kind of listening device.”

“A bug?” Obi-Wan ventured hesitantly.

Qui-Gon nodded curtly. “The Temple has very little surveillance, and almost no audio – certainly not in private quarters – so Xanatos can’t be hijacking that.” He hummed thoughtfully and ran a finger along his beard. “And we move around a great deal, so no single bug would pick up enough to be useful. That means either we’re barking up the wrong tree entirely, or the bug is moving with us.”

The door chime sounded. “Enter,” Qui-Gon called, and the door slid open to reveal Tahl.

“Master Tahl, there is a low table a meter and a half directly in front of- ”

“Yes _thank_ you TooJay,” Tahl said with annoyance.

Qui-Gon sat up, ramrod straight. He stared at TooJay, realization dawning over his expression. Obi-Wan’s eyes flew to the over-solicitous droid, and he made the same connection his Master had made just a moment before.

They had their bug.

* * *

It was easy to get Tahl to send TooJay off on an errand, and Qui-Gon quickly informed her of their suspicions. Tahl was more than willing to accept their conclusions, and pointed out that if they were right about TooJay, they could use the situation to their advantage.

“And I think I may know what Xanatos’ goal is,” Tahl added.

“Is it related to Offworld?” Qui-Gon asked.

“In a way. Xanatos isn’t just employed by Offworld, he’s in charge of it.”

“I see.”

“I’m not sure you do. What I mean is, we think of Xanatos as a former Jedi, but he’s also in the corporate sector now, and the vertex would be a great boon to Offworld – that much capital would allow for any number of new ventures.”

“You’re right,” Qui-Gon said, chagrined. “I should have realized that.” He thought for a moment. “There’s more to it though,” he said with certainty. “Yes, the Order might be easier to steal from than some other places, given his intimate knowledge of the Temple, but to strike in this way – Xanatos ultimate goal is revenge. He’s not targeting me directly, this time around, but he still wants revenge against me, for what happened with his father, and possibly revenge against the entire Order. And if that’s the case then the vertex is the perfect target.”

Tahl nodded thoughtfully. “Damaging the Order hurts us all. And if the vertex is stolen, the Order appears weak, negotiations between the star systems breaks down, and the Order is to blame for a multi-system war, at least in the public eye.”

“Precisely.”

“But if that’s the case, why do all the other things? The bombings, the thefts, the glitches in the Temple’s systems – why even let us know he’s here?” Obi-Wan asked, confused and a bit frustrated. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to keep us ignorant?”

The room fell silent again.

Tahl tapped her chin. “We know he used the stolen robes to move around the temple. And from what you’ve said, I suspect the rebreather he had came from the sport kit. But you’re right, the outlying acts don’t make sense if the only goal is the vertex.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Qui-Gon said, shaking his head. “Xanatos is crafty, perhaps even insane, but stupid? No. Just because we don’t see the reason behind his actions doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”

“I’m not sure if this is anything,” Tahl said.

“Yes?”

“Miro Daroon contacted me before I came over. He told me that the glitches were getting bad enough that he’d have to do a reboot of all the systems. Including security.”

“Was TooJay there?” Qui-Gon asked sharply.

“Yes.” Tahl said, voice flat.

“So, what do we do?” Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon frowned. “Hmmm. I have an idea.”

* * *

Obi-Wan glanced around the mess hall. A familiar silhouette caught his attention, and he made a beeline towards where the young human initiate was chatting and laughing with others in his clan.

“Garen!” Obi-Wan grinned, and Garen spun around to face him.

“Obi-Wan! I heard you got picked as a Padawan, congratulations!” Tall for his age, Garen was a centimeter or two shy of Obi-Wan’s own modest height, with a haircut, build, and skintone that was broadly similar. Close enough for Qui-Gon’s plan.

“Thank you. And you’ve been getting piloting lessons?”

“Oh yeah,” Garen beamed, motioning for Obi-Wan to sit down and join him. “Master Rhara thinks I’ve got great reflexes – I ran a bunch of simulations, and she even let me co-pilot a real starfighter, it was wizard!”

“Not in Coruscant space,” Obi-Wan half-asked. It was true Garen was an ace at piloting sims, but Coruscant’s space was as cluttered as it came, with ships moving in and out every minute of every rotation.

“No, she took us out a ways first,” Garen’s paused, then continued diffidently, “She doesn’t have a padawan, either, I think… I mean, I hope… Well, anyway, what’s this I hear about Melida/Daan?”

“Actually, I have a favour to ask. Master Jinn and I have been asked to help catch whoever’s planting the bombs, and you’d be perfect for a plan he wants to try.”

Garen stared at Obi-Wan, visibly baffled at the abrupt subject change. It hadn’t been very subtle, Obi-Wan had to admit. Still, he’d already started, he might as well brazen it out. “Interested?”

Garen thought about it for a second. “Sure!”

Returning to quarters, Obi-Wan was surprised to find two more people there.

“Bant, Master Giett,” Obi-Wan bowed his head in greeting, then gestured to Garen. “This is Garen Muln.”

“Oh, hello Masters,” Garen bowed his head to Micah, Tahl, and Qui-Gon. “Hi Bant,” Garen grinned. “Are you helping too?

“Hello Initiate Muln,” Qui-Gon said. “And yes, Bant may be helping.”

Tahl smirked. “And Micah. I pointed out to Qui-Gon that _not_ taking advantage of backup when he had the opportunity, was just a _little_ bit foolish. So I took the liberty of having Bant fetch Micah.”

“I’ll be Qui-Gon’s backup, if Xanatos shows up for the vertex.” Micah nodded.

“Obi-Wan and I will be happy to have you,” Qui-Gon said, even as Obi-Wan pasted a quick smile on his face. It was a good idea of Master Tahl’s, asking the Temple weapons-master to help fight Xanatos. Obi-Wan had had two classes with Master Giett, and liked and respected him. On the other hand, Obi-Wan would need to be doubly vigilant about his shields, especially going into a life-or-death battle. It would suck to win the battle and then be outed as Sith.

The door slid open. “Am I late?” Master Ali-Alann asked.

“Just in time,” Qui-Gon answered. “Come in, and I’ll fill you all in on the plan.”

They were going to pull a sleight of hand, Qui-Gon explained. Master Ali-Alann looked enough like Qui-Gon from the back to pass a cursory look. The same went for Garen and Obi-Wan. Since Qui-Gon and Tahl strongly suspected that TooJay was bugged, and that Xanatos’ ultimate goal was the vertex, Tahl would arrange for TooJay to ‘overhear’ a pre-recorded conversation between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, tricking Xanatos into thinking he knew where they were. Master Ali-Alann and Garen would also follow through with what was laid out in the conversation, letting Xanatos confirm their presence if he decided to hack what little surveillance the Temple had.

Meanwhile, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Master Giett would be waiting for Xanatos in the ante-chamber to the vault.

“Can I go with Master Ali-Alann and Garen? Please Master Tahl? Master Jinn?” Bant asked, wide-eyed and eager.

“Well, it shouldn’t be very dangerous,” Tahl mused.

“Please?” Garen asked, enthusiasm brightening his voice. He, Bant, Reeft, and Obi-Wan had always run in a pack, and Obi-Wan understood the desire to bring Bant into this new adventure.

“I want to help,” Bant added.

“Alright, but you have to follow Master Ali-Alann’s orders, the both of you,” Qui-Gon said, casting a stern gaze over the two young initiates.

They both nodded vigorously, and Ali-Alann placed a hand on their shoulders. “I’ll keep them safe.”

* * *

The vault with the vertex was in the central tower. Several floors below the Council chamber, it was one of the most secure places in the entire Temple. Even the ante-chamber of the vault was shielded in the Force, as well as having several layers of electronic dampeners built in. There was a single hardwired com terminal that allowed communication with the rest of the temple, but nothing else would get in or out of the room. That included people, unless you happened to have the right access codes. Which begged the question of how Xanatos planned to get in.

Qui-Gon’s theory was that Xanatos would wait until the Temple’s systems were being rebooted. The reboot would last twelve minutes, giving Xanatos ample time to cut his way into the ante-chamber and the vault, uninterrupted by alarms or security counter-measures. Cutting through two sets of blast doors didn’t seem like Xanatos’s style though. Obi-Wan thought it likely that Xanatos would manage to find a faster way requiring less effort.

Until Xanatos made his move, all Qui-Gon, Master Giett, and Obi-Wan could do was wait. Obi-Wan glanced at his chrono. Less than one minute until the reboot.

The com beeped to life. “-ui-Gon!” Master Tahl looked wan and drawn.

“Tahl? What’s wrong?” Qui-Gon asked, tense.

“Master Ali-Alann was killed, and– ” The message chopped off as the power and lights cut out, plunging the room and the entire temple into darkness.

Cold shock washed through Obi-Wan. Master Ali-Alann, dead? What had Master Tahl been about to add? Where were Bant and Garen? What had happened to them? Were they alright? Were they even alive? “Master, what do we- should we- ?” Obi-Wan stammered.

“We remain here.” Qui-Gon’s voice was implacable. “Xanatos will come to us.”

“I know it’s hard, but your Master’s right, kid,” Micah added.

“Yes, Masters.” It was more rote than true agreement. Obi-Wan tried to take deep breaths, tried to control the tension humming in his bones. Moments turned into minutes, and still they waited. Obi-Wan wiped his sweaty palms on his tunic, not wanting to have his hands slip on his lightsaber during the fight. Bant and Garen loomed large in his mind’s eye, his worry for them crowding out the calm he was so desperately reaching for. It was his fault. If he hadn’t picked Garen to be his double, if he’d spoken against Bant joining the decoy group, both his friends would still be safe. Instead, he’d put them squarely in Xanatos’ path. Some friend he was.

Worry, dread, and frustrated anger built in him. Force, at this rate he’d be a useless wreck when Xanatos and Bruck showed up. Worse, his shields were starting to slip, and Master Giett was _right there_ , not six feet from Obi-Wan. There was no way the Jedi Master could fail to notice the bloom of Darkness if Obi-Wan lost his shields now.

Qui-Gon stood between Obi-Wan and Master Giett. It would be easy to catch his Master’s attention, but after his misstep that morning, Obi-Wan wanted to prove himself to Qui-Gon. Maintaining his shields was surely the bare minimum of what he should be able to–

A large hand rested on his shoulder. Obi-Wan startled at the touch, his eyes swinging around instinctively to Qui-Gon, even in the pitch black room. “Master?”

“Breathe, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan felt his cheeks heat, and was glad of the cover of darkness. “I’m sorry, Master, I didn’t mean to, um, to disturb you.”

“You did not disturb me.” Qui-Gon’s voice dropped to a soft rumble, barely audible. “You are my student. It is my responsibility to guide and teach you. You may always come to me if you have a question or a problem.”

“Even after what I said?” Obi-Wan kept his voice as quiet as his Master’s.

The hand on his shoulder squeezed briefly. “Yes. Always.”

Obi-Wan felt the knot in his chest loosen. “Thank you, Master.” Letting the training bond between them open again, Obi-Wan leaned on the sense of warm strength from Qui-Gon, using it to steady his own grip on the chaotic emotions inside him.

Qui-Gon squeezed Obi-Wan’s shoulder one last time before letting go. “You’re doing well. Remember your lessons.” It was as close as Qui-Gon dared come to offering specific advice, with a Jedi in the room.

“Yes, Master.”

A few moments later, there was a muffled noise, followed by a mechanical click. The door gave a soft hiss as the lock disengaged, and there was a ripple in the Force, but everything remained dark.

A laugh, derisive and short, rolled into the room. “ _Master_. You continue to disappoint.”

Obi-Wan tightened the grip on his unlit weapon.

Qui-Gon ignited his lightsaber and moved to stand before the open doorway. “As do you. What do you want, Xanatos?”

The hum of a lightsaber igniting preceded Xanatos in, the red blade of superheated plasma held at Bant’s throat. The Mon Cal girl looked terrified, and the lack of either Garen or Master Ali-Alann made Obi-Wan’s stomach roil.

The feel of Bant’s shock was thick in the Force, grief wrapped up in horror. Obi-Wan’s stomach tied itself into a cold, hard knot. Bruck trailed them into the antechamber. In the red light of Xanatos’ lightsaber, barely accentuated by the emergency light strips from the hallway, the fallen Jedi looked like nothing sane.

“Decoys, Master? Really? Did you honestly think I was stupid?”

Qui-Gon’s voice was like ice. “No, merely deluded by your own hubris.”

Xanatos glared at him, and Obi-Wan was certain that now, he could see madness in the man’s eyes. “Nothing,” Xanatos declared softly, “will ever distract me from what you have taken from me.” They held eyes for a moment, then Xanatos brightened. “So I suppose I shall have to return the favor!”

“What did you do to Garen?” Obi-Wan didn’t mean to yell, didn’t mean to announce his presence, but with Bant feeling so horrible in the Force and Master Ali-Alann reported as dead– Force, he needed to know!

Xanatos glared coldly at Obi-Wan, still showing his teeth. Obi-Wan knew better than to mistake it for a smile. Xanatos hefted that horrible red lightsaber a little, angling it so that Bant’s tunic scorched brown along the shoulder. “The same thing I intend to do with this one, if you don’t let me pass. I’ll have the vertex, and if you insist on me walking over the bodies of half the temple, then you shall not be disappointed.”

Part of that was a lie, but most of it rang true in the Force. Xanatos was going to kill her one way or another. From the way Bant tensed, she knew it as well as Obi-Wan did, or better. Her fear doubled, then determination threaded into it.

Bant’s hands shot up, and she dug her claws deep into Xanatos’ arm. He snarled and shifted instinctively, pulling away even as his lightsaber sliced downwards. Bant squirmed away, but the lightsaber caught her along the arm. She stumbled to the floor with a cry, still alive, but injured.

However unplanned, the distraction gave Qui-Gon and Master Giett a chance to engage Xanatos, and they were quick to take advantage of it. Obi-Wan ducked forward, heading for Bant, then had to lunge the last three feet to block Bruck’s lightsaber as it swung for Bant’s unprotected shoulder.

“Bruck, what are you doing?” Obi-Wan cried.

“Up for a rematch, Oafy-Wan?” Bruck sneered.

Obi-Wan took a firm hold on his anger. “You’re going to regret this,” he said, falling into a stance.

“Oh I doubt that,” Bruck said, and attacked.

* * *

Qui-Gon had to work to keep from tapping his Darker emotions, let alone shielding the worst of them. Younglings as hostages, younglings as _victims_ – It was horrific, wrong. He desperately wanted to use his anger, but Micah’s presence made that too risky. Checking himself kept Qui-Gon back some, but Micah was skilled, and the weapon-master’s presence more than made up the difference.

“Give up!” Qui-Gon yelled, trading blows with his once-student. Xanatos blocked him, using the narrow confines against the two Jedi.

“Oh dear, whatever shall I do without my hostage?” he sneered as they hammered at each other. When Micah joined in, Xanatos retreated a few steps, but never faltered. “ _You_ give up!”

“You’re out of allies, out of hostages, out of options!”

Xanatos’ laugh was chilling. “Oh, my master, did it really not occur to you what the Crystals of Fire could be used for? They’ll make such a lovely explosion, and then we’ll see just what fire they have caught inside!”

Shock left Qui-Gon open to a sly little blow, which Micah deflected enough for Qui-Gon to avoid injury. Gathering his wits about him, Qui-Gon launching into a string of rapid blows as Xanatos blocked. “Another bomb!”

Xanatos sneered. “Of course! I didn’t even need to bring in many materials, not with the Crystals to amplify the explosion. Did you think I would waltz in here with only a single hostage? Why bother when there’s an entire temple of them! Last chance, Qui-Gon! The vertex, or the Temple burns! How many bodies are _you_ willing to walk across?” He pulled back, still with that bright, deranged grin. Then Xanatos canted his head to the side, grin widening. “You know what, let’s find out.”

Xanatos flipped a detonator from his belt, punching in a swift set of buttons. Qui-Gon braced himself, wondering if he needed to warn Obi-Wan, though what could he do with his padawan fighting for his own life?

Nothing happened. At least, nothing Qui-Gon could feel. Xanatos’s grin died into furious disgruntlement. He mashed buttons again, and nearly lost the detonator and possibly a hand to Micah.

“Shielded room, youngling,” Micah snarled. “Otherwise known as ‘security measures.’ Now hand over the detonator and –”

Xanatos lunged at him, cutting Micah off and nearly barreling him over. Qui-Gon jumped back in, and in the ensuing flurry, the detonator went flying. By the time Qui-Gon turned to see where it had ended up, Xanatos was shouting.

“Go! Set it off!”

He could see Bruck standing at the doorway, detonator in hand, just a moment before the boy took off. In the Force, there was only resolute determination and loyalty, meaning that as soon as he had an opportunity, Bruck would trigger the bomb.

Qui-Gon hammered at Xanatos with a strong overhead blow, tying him up in defense. “Obi-Wan, stop Bruck!” Qui-Gon called to his Apprentice as Xanatos pushed him back. Micah flanked Xanatos, trapping the Fallen Jedi between them, and preventing him from fleeing the room.

* * *

Obi-Wan hardly needed his Master’s order – he’d been closest to Bruck, and the one that could most easily be spared in the fight against Xanatos. Now all he had to do was keep Bruck too busy to punch four buttons on a remote.

Obi-Wan pelted after his agemate. Both their lightsabers were still on, providing the only illumination in the dark corridors. Both of them were equally winded from their fight, and the distance between them stayed constant.

“Bruck, stop!”

Bruck didn’t even slow down. Obi-Wan _really_ hoped that Bruck didn’t have the bright idea to turn off his lightsaber to try escaping in the dark – it might just work.

Bruck ducked around a corner and the light from his lightsaber vanished. Obi-Wan put on a burst of speed. He couldn’t allow Bruck to break their stalemate. Rounding the corner he found an open door and barreled through it. Bruck’s lightsaber ignited in his face, and he managed a sloppy block, avoiding impalement by a hairsbreadth.

“Don’t do this!” Obi-Wan called, skidding to a stop on something soft. Grass. “You’ll hurt innocent people. Your friends!”

Bruck’s face twisted in anger. “The Jedi are stupid. Weak! They held me back!”

“Is that what Xanatos told you?” Obi-Wan knew how Xanatos could twist the truth. If he’d been working on Bruck for months now…

“It’s the truth! Xanatos showed me what real strength is!” Bruck lunged again, forcing Obi-Wan to block.

“So that you can terrify and kill people?”

“It’s their fault! I was ready to be a padawan! I would have been better than _you._ ” Again and again Bruck attacked, but for all the anger in the blows, Bruck wasn’t tapping into the Dark side that Obi-Wan could tell. Maybe there was still hope.

“NO Jedi would target innocent younglings!”

Bruck broke away, a toxic mix of hate and panic rolling off him in the Force. “It’s their own fault!” he cried.

Obi-Wan’s heart sank. “If you knew about it and did nothing, it’s _your_ fault too!”

“NO!”

There would be no reasoning with Bruck. Obi-Wan’s switched tactics. He shifted his stance and launched a furious attack, hoping to tire Bruck out or disarm him. There was a grim part of Obi-Wan that knew killing Bruck was a possible outcome. He would not seek out the opportunity, but he would not shy from it either. As they fought, they shifted from grass to a low area filled with wet gravel. It was only when a rush of water swept past their feet that Obi-Wan realized where they were. The Room of a Thousand Fountains. More specifically, they were on the upper riverbed that led to the waterfall, only a few meters behind Bruck.

Miro Daroon was rebooting the Temple systems. After the water systems would be-

A brush of knowledge through the Force distracted Obi-Wan enough that he had to scramble to block Bruck’s attack. Disengaging, Obi-Wan jumped backwards, landing solidly and closing his eyes.

Bruck cried out as the lights snapped on to full brilliance, the overhead bank of lights in the Room of a Thousand Fountains mimicking daylight well enough to blind, after the absolute darkness of a second before.

Blinking spots out of his own eyes, Obi-Wan took aim at Bruck, and shot forward. Taking the other boy in the gut with his shoulder, Obi-Wan launched them both over the edge of the waterfall, leaving them in freefall for a breathless moment before they plummeted into the lake below.

They hit hard, the impact knocking the breath from Obi-Wan. Bruck gave a strangled shout and went limp. Water swallowed them, dragging at Obi-Wan. Forcing himself calm, Obi-Wan oriented himself towards the light and rose. Coughing on the water he’d taken in, Obi-Wan snagged Bruck by the tunic and stroked for the shore, dragged the dead weight behind him.

Tired and sore, Obi-Wan crawled out of the lake onto the small strip of sand bordering it. The calm silence was a far cry from the chaotic noise he’d gotten used to during the battles on Melida/Daan. Reluctantly, he turned his attention to the body beside him.

He checked Bruck for a pulse and found it. Relief washed through him. At least he hadn’t killed anyone this time.

Obi-Wan dug through the pouches on Bruck’s belt, quickly turning up the waterlogged activator. It looked like the water had done his job for him. Nobody would be setting of bombs with this.

Time to try calling his Master.

* * *

With Obi-Wan safely out of the way – at least, as safe as anyone in the Temple might be – Qui-Gon could concentrate on his former apprentice. In the small confines, Xanatos had a slight advantage in that he could maneuver Micah and Qui-Gon into each other, and he seemed to delight in trying to do so. He had never had great appreciation for his master’s friends – but that also meant Xanatos wasn’t used to fighting them both.

It took a bit for the two of them to fall back into comfortable synch with each other, the rhythm of battle finally snapping into place. Qui-Gon traded several more swift blows with Xanatos, then pulled back as if overbalanced. Xanatos took the bait, stepping forward. Micah came in from the side, sliding past the red lightsaber to stab Xanatos along the side.

Nothing fatal, though the Fallen Jedi howled and stumbled back.

Qui-Gon listened without satisfaction, but also without sympathy, to his former padawan's cry of pain. He reached out to Force-grab the lightsaber from Xanatos' weakened grip. Tossing it away, Qui-Gon heard it clatter across the room into the darkness, then used the Force to shove Xanatos against the wall and pin him there. Qui-Gon's Darkness howled behind iron shields, furious at the insanity he was seeing but couldn’t _fix_ , and the lives it had cost, the lives it threatened even now. There was no remorse as he flexed his hold, moving in closer to glare at Xanatos. Force, his actions were more Sith than Jedi, but- Later. He'd worry about it later.

“Where is it?” he snarled, and Xanatos gave him that sullen little glance before laughing.

There should have been more madness audible in that laugh.

Qui-Gon firmly stepped on the impulse to clench his hand, to tighten the grip from a pin to a stranglehold. Instead, he raised his other hand, passing it before Xanatos. “You will tell us where the bomb is.”

“The bomb is at the bottom of the lake in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.”

 _Gods_. The water would channel the explosion down, doing more damage to the Temple’s structure at the point where the floor was already thinnest. It was more than likely that it would crack the duracrete, sending untold amounts of water through the level beneath it, which housed the power plant for the Temple.

The lights blinked back on, making them all squint even in the intentionally dimmed light, but Qui-Gon’s grip on Xanatos never wavered.

Micah shook his head, moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with Qui-Gon. “That was too easy,” he declared, suspicion rippling through his voice and the Force.

He was right. Qui-Gon’s eyes went wide, and he had no idea if he actually used Force suggestion again or not. “How long do we have?”

The madness surfaced again, leaking out around the edges as Xanatos grinned, mocking and silent. Qui-Gon abandoned his Force hold to grab Xanatos by the shirt, hauling him around and slamming him against a different wall. “ _How long_?” he roared.

Smirking even around his grimace of pain, Xanatos almost lazily rolled his head to the side, looking at the chrono on his wrist. “One seventy-eight. One seventy-seven. One seventy-six.”

Micah bolted for the room’s com, cursing and pounding the buttons until he could yell at Mace’s scowling visage to get everyone out of the central core area of the Temple. As the glitches had gotten worse, more and more Jedi had been moved, until most of them were now in the central area, spread over several floors. They bulk of relocated Jedi weren’t directly above the lake, but they were close enough that the bombing would find easy victims. Qui-Gon tossed his former student to the floor, trying to ignore the grunt of pain which did little to interrupt the relentless countdown. He ran to the hallway, normal lighting in the area instead of the dim emergency illumination making it easier to enter in Miro Daroon’s code. Like Micah, he was already yelling as the com connected.

“Lock down the power plant! Stop the generators, shut everything down!”

Daroon boggled. “But I just got everything back on– ”

“Unless it can handle a thousand fountains being dumped on it, _shut it down!_ ”

Thank the Force, Daroon understood, wide-eyed and tight-lipped as the connection closed. As Qui-Gon took a desperately needed deep breath, his com chirped.

He toggled it, and a holo of his wet, bedraggled apprentice managed a weak smile for him. “Master!” Dear gods. “I have the detonator, and Bruck.”

The Force was practically screaming with horrible potential. “Obi-Wan, get clear, _now_! The bomb’s at the bottom of the lake in the Room of a Th–” He could see realization on his student’s face, but a sound from the ante-chamber diverted Qui-Gon’s attention. He turned, dropping his wrist down to grab his lightsaber.

Xanatos had passed Micah by in favor of the object of his obsession and hatred, making a straight line for Qui-Gon. Micah could not block in any meaningful way, and so he lunged, instead.

It was a merciful blow, taking out the heart and severing the spine in one blow. Painless. Xanatos toppled over, still mouthing numbers as his eyes glazed over, accusation burning through Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon had a long moment to stare, hand white-knuckling his still-unlit lightsaber as Xanatos’ presence faded into the Force.

The explosion rocked the building, and Qui-Gon staggered to his knees. He could feel several more Jedi joining the Force, but thank all that was good, Obi-Wan’s presence across their training bond was bright and alive.

* * *

The damage to the Temple and the Order was extensive, but not catastrophic. Several Jedi had sustained cuts and broken bones, and there were bruises all around, but the final death toll stood at six – a fraction of what it could have been. Two elderly Jedi – Master Abtree and Master North – as well as a Jedi Guardian, Knight Ka, had died in the explosion. Xanatos, of course, had been killed during the fight. The remaining two fatalities were Master Ali-Alann and Initiate Garen.

Obi-Wan stood in subdued solemnity, tears tracking silently down his cheeks. Qui-Gon stood at his side, resting one warm hand on his shoulder. Obi-Wan had gone through periods of not wanting to even see his Master in the two days since the bombing, but at this moment he clung to the support offered by Qui-Gon.

To Obi-Wan’s left stood Bant. She was silent, eyes downcast. Master Tahl stood behind her. Bant looked sad, but serene. No unseemly emotional tears there. Obi-Wan’s own outpouring had earned him more than one disapproving glance. Oh, if only they knew what lurked beneath his shields.

Master Yoda stood forward and started to speak, but Obi-Wan let the eulogy drone past, not able to pay attention to even Master Yoda’s comforting words.

Several Jedi were arranged around the room. At the center were the pyres, the still figures on them draped in white. Garen looked so _small_ , laid out between Master Ali-Alann and Knight Ka. Obi-Wan’s throat closed up and he made himself breathe through his nose instead of devolving into sobs. All the anger – at himself, at Qui-Gon, at Master Tahl, at Xanatos, at Bruck, even at Garen himself – died to nothingness in the face of his grief.

The Sith Code said nothing about death. The Jedi Code denied it entirely. _There is no death, there is the Force._ Cold comfort, here and now.

Obi-Wan was miserable, angry, and grieving. Qui-Gon hadn’t tried to tell him to use or direct any of it. Obi-Wan thought he might have hit Qui-Gon if the man had. Gods, he just wanted to _leave_. He couldn’t though. He wouldn’t leave Garen, not now, not until this was done.

Master Yoda fell silent, and the pyres sank into the floor, coverings closing gently over them as they settled into place.

Beams of bright light rose up, signaling that the bodies had been reduced to less than ash.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, and mourned.


End file.
